The whole story - Er-ummm?

How

This is all a bit nuts and bolts, but you might like to know about it anyway. I'm sure you give thorough briefings. But to help me I use a briefing check list.
It's rather obvious and it does go on and on. Oddly enough, it not only helps me, it sometimes helps inexperienced clients. By the way, if any of this basic stuff is of interest, please feel free to download it and use it yourself.

I complete the list for my own use. And call report a copy to you. I'm also keen on updating the brief with detailed meeting and phone call reports. All very obvious and no more than you'd expect from an agency. I also use another checklist to judge my work, especially ads.

JUDGING CREATIVE WORK

Is the message clear?
Is it accurate?
Does it fulfil all the criteria of the brief?
Is there any reader-reward? Intrigue? Drama? Humanity? Warmth? Humour?
Does it engage the audience, give them a thought to complete, an idea to 'get'?
Will it encourage them to become our 'accomplices'?
What aspiration of theirs will it fulfil?
What will they sacrifice if they don't buy?
What impression does it leave?
Does it contain any negatives?
Can it be misinterpreted? (If it can, it will be.)
Can it be done in time and on budget?
Is it worth affording?
Do I like it?

Finally, a reminder to me:
1. Telling isn't selling.
2. The first reaction is all important. You can't regain your innocent eye.

MY JURY

There's also another wrinkle I use. I keep a list, an arbitrary and changeable jury of names, half a dozen strong. I imagine them looking at the work. What would he think of it? What would she make of it? The list helps me to try to look at the work through others' eyes before I present to you. I try to anticipate your questions and objections. The fact is, you judge me by my creative work. But I don't judge clients by the quality of the briefing. Instead, I regard solving the brief as part of my job. It's the first part of solving the creative.

ONE MORE THING, DIPADA.

Dipada, as you may know, is an acronym for a sales technique. And, although to a certain extent we live in a post-Dipada world, it can be used as an armature to hang copy on. This is the discipline.

Define - customer's needs
Identify - those needs with the product being sold
Proof - prove the product works
Agreement - get agreement the product meets the customer's needs
Desire - to find out how our product can work for you.
Action - to take.

Many copywriters follow the principle even if they don't know it. Your company may use other sales aids - Aida for example - attention, interest, desire, action. Today, lots of selling is done in a post-Dipada way, but it remains a useful guide.

THE QUESTION I'M MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED:

How much do you charge for pitching?
Answer:
Half my usual day rate, with double day rate payment if the pitch is successful.

So there you have it. That's how I work. If you'd like a full presentation, please call me, Jim Kelso, on 01491 613003. 'Ideas are the currency of the future', the current mantra says (as if they weren't the currency of the past). And it is ideas I sell. Ideas backed by my principles. And, as Groucho Marx said: 'If you don't like my principles, I've got others'.

MY FAVOURITE AD:

A poster outside a suburban church which read:
'This way up.'

MY FAVOURITE PIECE OF COPY

Instructions on a jar lid which read:
'Pierce with pin and push off.'